• • • RAIL INDUSTRY • • •
The smart railways market By Sameer Bhatnagar, Associate Director, Research ICT Business Practices
ccording to Markets and Markets, the rail sector is witnessing a rapid adoption of technologies. In the last two decades, transit companies around the world have implemented modern technologies to make journeys of passengers more comfortable. Transportation has powered global economic growth during the 20th century, though road and air dominate the overall transportation sector, railways play a vital role in shaping the economic and financial position of a country. Railways carry billions of passengers and freight, generating revenues worth billions of dollars. However, the traditional railway infrastructure is incapable of fulfilling the increasing requirements of urban mobility.
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According to the United Nations (UN), in 2018, 55 per cent of the world’s population lived in urban areas; a share that is expected to increase to 66 per cent by 2050. Transport is a significant component of the modern economy; it accounts for 6 per cent - 12 per cent of the GDP in many developed countries. The need to modernise the railway infrastructure is driving huge investments in the railway industry. In countries, such as Qatar and Brazil where there is little railway infrastructure, investments are being made to develop a high-speed rail infrastructure.
Railway management
system evolution Technological advancements have enabled the railway industry to operate efficiently, leveraging state-of-the-art ICT within the existing rail infrastructure. Passengers are now empowered with smart ticketing solutions, minimum waiting time using predictive analytics and better security improvements with Passenger Information System (PIS). In the future, intelligent robots will be used to track, repair and maintain the railway
infrastructure. Numerous product innovations are carried out in the railway industry to enhance the efficiency of railway operations, traffic management, rail control, rail communication and networking, rail assets, rail analytics, rail security and PIS.
Smart railways is a technologically advanced approach to effectively manage rail transportation operations through the quick sharing of rail data across rail infrastructure components, such as passengers, ticketing departments, control centres and freight. Smart railways solutions are backed by various latest technologies, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud, analytics, big data, Global Positioning System (GPS), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), to make rail operations more accurate and efficient. The smart railways approach carries out the integration of software solutions to optimise the usage of assets, from tracks to trains, to meet the ever-growing demand of the citizens efficiently and provide safer services.
The increasing importance of sustainability, regulations, demographics (growing traffic and aging population), economics (limited public funding and price sensitivity), Information Technology (IT) innovations and mobility is expected to spur the growth of the rail industry. These inclinations are also expected to change every component of the value chain of the smart railways market-from the passenger service to the back- end operations.
The concept of smart railways developed during the 1990s, with the evolution of the Global System for Mobile Communication System-Rails (GSM-R), which is considered the keystone of the rail industry transformation. Rail operators mainly use GSM-R (a wireless telecommunication system) for operational voice and data communication. Over a period, innovation in wireless communication technologies offered dependable transmission of
video and data services for long distances. In 2000, the introduction of Internet-based technology solutions and various digital devices projected new application areas, such as the provision of information about rails to passengers, Communication-based Trail Control (CBTC), rail traffic management system, real-time PIS and Positive Train Control (PTC) solutions. However, the rail industry underwent a major revolution after 2005, with the introduction of lot and the adoption of smart city projects, which led to the emergence of solutions, such as smart ticketing, passenger infotainment, rail analytics, and dynamic route scheduling and planning. IoT-based solutions have eventually reinforced competitive benefits and uncovered new business prospects. Improvised supply chain, enhanced asset monitoring and maintenance, and potential return on lot investment are some of the benefits that have already impacted the global rail industry. The 2010s witnessed the introduction of various technology applications in the railway industry. Futuristic technologies, such as virtual ticketing, LI-FI, big data, ticketless travel, high-speed and hyper-speed rails, loyalty schemes, passenger entertainment, digital signage and 5G are shaping the future of the railway industry. In the coming years, the rail industry is expected to rely on smart transportation systems that leverage technologies in large rail network infrastructure. New technologies, such as integrated service management, asset management and predictive analytics are expected to help rail management companies to manage optimal routes, schedules and capacity in near real-time. With the increasing presence of smart technologies in rail transportation, the associated solutions and services markets are also expected to grow at high rates, globally. Emerging technologies, such as smart ticketing, rail analytics, cloud adoption, smart traffic, and operation solutions will enable efficient and better rail infrastructure. They will also improve timely decision-making for issues, such as asset deployment, utilisation and maintenance. The successful implementation of smart railway projects heavily depends on the multiple facets of technologies, such as data communications, cloud, mobility, and sensors that together form the loT architecture. The launch of high-performance telecommunication technologies, such as 3G and 4G LTE, is pushing the rate of mobile Internet data usage worldwide. According to the International Telecommunication Union data in 2019, 4.1 billion people use the Internet, reflecting a 5.3 per cent increase as compared to 2018. The CAGR of mobile broadband subscriptions was 78 per cent in America, 82 per cent in Europe, 48 per cent in APAC, 51 per cent in the Arab States and 28 per cent in Africa.
The growth in technology is enhancing the attractiveness of mobile Internet based applications and solutions, such as passenger
22 ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING • MARCH 2025
electricalengineeringmagazine.co.uk
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